As much as Joe Perry has accomplished over five decades at the forefront of rock, he’s still hungry for more.
Joining us at lunchtime on a sunny Thursday, the Aerosmith and Hollywood Vampires guitar hero enthuses that life at his winter home in Sarasota, Florida is “like being on vacation every day” – Permanent Vacation, Joe, surely – but flashes of the Bostonian kid who grew up destined for stardom far north of the Mason-Dixon line constantly slip through. Still trying to get to the bottom of the mystery that is the electric guitar, he’d far rather talk shop than regale us with tales of fame and fortune. When faced with big questions about music and the industry, he tackles them with the wonder and humility of a fan rather than the swagger of a hotshot who played the game and won. And, when conversation moves to the recent loss of the late, great Jeff Beck, Joe’s tone is darkened by grief, not at the loss of a contemporary, but his very own hero.
Accordingly, he takes to fielding questions from his own fanbase with an enthusiasm and energy that few of his peers would match. “It sounds exciting to me,” he grins. “Just what I need to lift my afternoon!”
So let’s begin...
Henry asks… What’s the biggest difference between playing with Aerosmith and Hollywood Vampires?
“In some ways there can be really drastic differences. In Aerosmith, I’m playing with guys I’ve known and grown up with over the last 50 years. We’re a family. We’ve had our squabbles, to the point where I had to leave for a while, but if anyone came at us from the outside, we would group together as that band of five. We had some great moments – some incredible moments – but we had our struggles, too. We grew up from being kids in the garage to living this incredibly chequered life.
“With the Vampires, it feels like everybody has already been through all of those things in their own lives. I mean, I’ve known Alice [Cooper, Hollywood Vampires vocalist] since we met at the premiere of the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band movie [in 1978]. I was at his manager’s house when I called Steven [Tyler, Aerosmith vocalist] to get the band back together. We go a long way back. But in the Vampires, it’s like a garage band of buddies who’ve already paid their dues: a labour of love that came along where we’re just out there doing what we do. There’s no pressure. We’re not out there trying to ‘make it’. We’re not trying to do anything but make great music and bring along anyone who cares to listen.
“Of course, there are similarities between the bands, too, in how they stand for rock’n’roll and not knowing what’s going to happen until you step onto the stage: saying, ‘We’ve done our homework, so let’s see what happens when we get out there and roll the dice!’”